The True Art of Divination
by SousLeStylo
Summary: [Oneshot] “You know, the true art of Divination is being able to read people. While Peter is blowing up tables, and James Potter is doing some quick talking, Lily Evans is getting her fortune read...by Alice, no less! R


**A/N:** Just a little update: I have a plethora of one-shots lined up, and this one is just the beginning. I've also got the next chapter for "Oh Really, Miss Brainiac" coming along nicely, but romance scenes are _always_ hard to write (hint enough for you?).

At any rate, I hope you like this extra long one-shot. Review if you are so inclined (which I hope you are as I spent all bloody afternoon writing it!). Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Most assuredly not mine.

**The True Art of Divination**

"You know, Lily, the true art of Divination is being able to read people. You can't tell a thing about them or their futures if you don't gauge their true character within the first ten minutes of speaking with them. Mrs. Shreve, my mother's astrologer, always used to tell me, 'Alice, you've got to be a people-reader!'"

Trooping up the stairs to the top of the North Tower—one of the tallest towers in Hogwarts Castle, Lily Evans rolled her eyes heavily and pretended not to hear her best friend. Alice Stewart, however, was used to this type of treatment. It was one of the things she loved most about Lily—she may act like a bad-tempered redhead, but beneath that, she was an English Rose.

"What do you think we'll be doing today, anyway?" Alice asked, pulling her book bag further up onto her shoulder and looking behind her at the other students who were making the long climb to their Divination class.

"I don't know, and I don't particularly care. I've no clue as to how you forced me to take this class for a _sixth_ year in a row," Lily said.

Alice smiled and linked her arm through Lily's limp one. "You took it, Lily Evans, because you are a genuinely nice person… And because you are my friend… And because I threatened you with the prediction of a horrible, horrible death."

Lily sighed again and said, "Right—doesn't it go against, oh I don't know, _The Eye_ for you to make dire predictions that are, of course, false, just to get your friend to take a class with you?"

Alice cocked her head and said, "I look at it as such, my dearest, deary little pal—I am going against the general niceties of The Eye in order to further my education of It…you see, my rebellious activity is only to serve the cause. _I_ am completely justified!"

"No," said Lily, "_you_ are completely nutters."

Alice let go of Lily's arm abruptly. "You know, I sometimes wonder if we view our relationship in the same light."

Lily halted and gave Alice her most dumb-founded stare. "What?"

"Never-mind," Alice replied briskly, "we've reached the class."

Lily turned back around and realized that only three feet in front of her a ladder had been let down from the ceiling. Students were already climbing up it, swinging wildly on the ropey thing. Several girls near the top were having difficulty covering their skirted bottoms from the eyes of the boys below.

Lily and Alice, by no means the last ones up the ladder, snatched a table at the back of the room. The Divination classroom was a sparse, ugly room, with walls painted a dreary white color.

"Ecru!" Alice had once exclaimed on the first day of classes in second year.

There were a few shelves at the back of the room that held baubles of every kind and several wooden boxes. The chairs in the room were awful, stiff things. The tables were polished clean, but had stains all over them—spilt tea, potions, and, quite possibly, blood.

Oh yes, Lily was going to _really enjoy_ this term's Divination class.

"I feel as if I'm coming home," Alice sighed from across the table, looking out over the classroom with oddly misty eyes.

Lily rolled her eyes again as a loud crashing sound came from the other end of the room.

"Oh, way to go, Wormtail! Really, _brilliant_ work! '_I can make us some cushions for these_ _chairs_' he says… You just blew up our table!"

Lily smirked and watched the scene unfolding at the opposite side of the classroom. Four boys stood over the splintered remains of a classroom table, staring down at it. Each wore various levels of amusement on their faces. One boy, a lanky youth with long, dark hair, was clapping his hands sarcastically as he berated a shorter, pudgier boy.

"I thought it would work…" The pudgy boy said regretfully.

"Oh, and it did," exclaimed the lanky boy. "Just look at our table now—a right bed of flowers and fluffy bunnies."

The two other boys laughed and patted the pudgy boy on the back.

"No worries, Wormtail. I'm sure the old bat will figure out some portentous meaning for this," said a tall boy with messy dark hair. "Who knows, you might even get some house points!"

"Really?" Asked the pudgy boy excitedly.

"No," answered a fourth boy with sandy hair and a grim expression, "there will be no house points for destroying school property."

"Obviously," drawled the lanky boy.

"Well, then we'd better right it," said the tall boy with the dark hair. He looked around the classroom before spotting Lily and Alice sitting quietly at their own table.

"Oy—Evans, Stewart… Would you like to help us with a little construction project?" The boy asked.

"Not on your life, Potter," said Lily, sniffing and trying not to notice the boy's cheerful eyes.

"Yes, James, really—it's your mess…such disrespect…" Alice added sadly.

James Potter rolled his eyes and turned back to the three other boys who stood in the rubble of their table. "No such luck with the birds then, my men. I suppose we'll have to show them how it's done."

The lanky boy turned to the sandy-haired boy. "Any ideas Remus?"

Remus shook his head and said quietly as he stepped away from the ruins, "_I_ am in no way involved with this fiasco, Sirius."

"Right," replied Sirius, tugging on the ends of his hair, thinking. "Well, then the only thing I can come up with is to tell Madame that this was all an omen…Peter, get ready to shine."

Peter, the slightly pudgy boy, gulped and looked around, saying, "Right…"

The three boys sat down in the rubble of their table, eventually tugging Remus down as well.

Lily turned to Alice and said, "Just another day at school then, eh?"

Alice smiled and nodded happily. "Aye, Lily, my love, aye."

Suddenly, Alice gasped and then broke into little jittery movements, brushing off her robes and straightening in her chair. Lily looked around. There, at the end of the room, as if she had immerged from out of the wall itself, stood an old, frazzled woman. The woman drew a rattling breath and stepped into the light.

Her claw-like hands were clutched around a huge crystal ball, as if she was the embodiment of an antique, eagle-claw table leg. The woman's white hair, as sparsely placed about her head as decorations were on the walls of the classroom, stood on end and she blinked beady eyes at the students in the room. Finally, after much wheezing, hissing, and rattling, she stretched a grizzled hand toward the four boys who sat among the splinters of the table.

"Explain," she whispered furiously.

"Erm…" Said Peter when Sirius nudged him with his elbow. "Well, uh. We, erm…"

"It's an omen!" James Potter exclaimed loudly and dramatically. "A terrible omen, Madame Edmonia!"

Madame Edmonia quirked an eyebrow, obviously intrigued. "An omen?"

"Oh yes!" Shouted James, standing. "We came into the class, unawares of the great power of The Eye that had settled in the room. We sat at the table, asked each other how the day was going thus far, and suddenly, without warning of any kind, and with no mention of cushions, the table started _to shake_."

"It was _shaking_?" Said the Divination professor.

"It certainly was," said Sirius, standing up next to James. "Like one of those tremblers the Earth sometimes gets in Turkey! It was terrifying."

"And suddenly, as we jumped away from the frightful thing," James cried portentously, "the table…_exploded_."

This last part, whispered for a dramatic effect, sent Madame Edmonia into a spasm of excitement that Lily was sure was unhealthy for such an unstable old woman. She clutched her crystal ball tightly and stared at the splintered remains of the table. Remus and Peter stood up and moved away from the ruins.

Madame Edmonia moved towards the table, bent down, and picked up a splinter. She held it up against the light that came in through a window in the classroom, and examined it carefully.

"Yes," she murmured, "yes, it _is_ an omen…I will have to examine it after class. Find another table, boys, and no one come near these shards…an omen—how fascinating."

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus moved toward a table not far from the one they had blown up. As they were sitting down, Madame Edmonia added quietly, "And take five house-points each, boys."

Remus's mouth dropped open as Sirius and James grinned at one another. James caught Lily's eye and gave her a wink, which she promptly returned with a glare.

Standing up from the rubble, Madame Edmonia cleared her throat and said, "Now, let's move on, shall we class? Today, we will be delving into the art of Taromancy. I believe you all remember the art of Tarot reading from your fifth-year class?"

Several students nodded, Alice included, and Madame Edmonia continued, "So, pair up, and do a session. Only one of you will be able to have your fortune read, as this is not a double class period. Next time, the other person will take a turn." As she turned away from the class, the professor said, "Oh yes—the decks."

Madame Edmonia waved her hand, and to the delight of several students in the class, again, Alice included, a handsome deck of Tarot cards appeared in between each pair of students. Alice snatched the cards up and began to shuffle and split them up with the air of someone very practiced in Taromancy.

"Mrs. Shreve says that Tarot reading is a lost art," said Alice. " I quite agree with her. Too many people believe it to be hogwash, while it's really one of the oldest forms of Divination…"

"Yes, Alice, isn't that fascinating," Lily drawled.

"Now," said Alice importantly, setting the deck down in front of Lily, "what would you like me to read for you? Your death, perhaps?"

Lily shook her head.

"Fine. Your…scholastic future?"

Again Lily shook her head, saying, "There is no grey matter in where I am headed academically, Alice."

"Fine," Alice said exasperatedly. "What about...your love life?"

Lily thought for a moment, her eyes darting to where Sirius was reading James's fortune, and replied, "All right."

Alice coughed and sputtered. "What? _Seriously_? But…you don't _ever_ talk about your love life…mostly for the reason that it doesn't exist, but still!"

Lily resisted the urge to reach across the table and flick Alice's face. Instead, she said kindly, "Yes, well Alice, I am simply trying to help you out with your Divination. Obviously you know me, so it shouldn't be that difficult—especially as it is almost 'non-existent."

Alice frowned and looked at Lily suspiciously. "All right then… Just you keep in mind that I know you _very well_, Lily Evans."

She set the deck of cards in front of Lily and said, "Break the deck, then put it back together. Set your left hand on it and make a statement, ask a question, or concentrate on something—in your mind."

Lily broke the deck in thirds, and then set the sections on top of one another. She set her hand on the top of the deck and tried to make a statement, James's loud voice breaking through her concentration.

"Well that's just dumb, isn't it Sirius?" James was saying, "My wife can't _actually_ hate me! Why'd she go an marry me in the first place?"

"Your money?" Sirius replied before a slapping sound echoed across the room.

"My money!" James shrieked.

Lily opened her eyes to find Alice turned about in her seat and laughing helplessly as James continued to hit Sirius around the head. Lily sniffed and Alice turned around.

"Right," said Alice, still chuckling. "So, let's see what we've got, yeah?"

She pulled cards off of the top of the deck, arranging them so that there were two center cards, and one card to each side and below and above them. Alice stared hard at the top center card before looking quickly up at Lily, who was laughing and watching as Sirius now beat James about the head.

"Lily…" Said Alice slowly, grabbing Lily's attention as she jabbed a finger toward the center card, "Is, erm, there someone you like—I mean really, _really_ like? And by that I mean, erm, _love_?"

"No." Lily said quickly before letting her brow wrinkle in confusion. "I mean to say, not that I can think of at this moment in time…Why?"

"Well it's just that your first card, here in the center, says that there is a man in your life who is very solid, dependable, and brave," said Alice.

"Oh, well, that's funny isn't it?" Lily asked lightly, looking around the classroom. "I can't for the life of me think of who that is…what do you think about that, Alice?"

"_I _think," Alice said, watching Lily carefully, "that maybe you haven't been telling me something…Mrs. Shreve, Lily—_Mrs. Shreve_."

"What has your mother's astrologer got to do with this?"

"Er, _everything_, Lily. Don't you remember what I was saying about the key to Divination?"

"Oh," said Lily, a little relieved that they weren't discussing the center card anymore. "Right, about the ten minutes thing…what do you think about that, Alice?"

Alice shook her head and set the top center card to the side. "I think you aren't telling me something, that's what I think," she muttered. "Let's see…Second center, yeah?"

Lily nodded, letting out a relieved breath. She really didn't want Alice to examine what possibilities a "solid, dependable, brave" man brought to the picture. After all, if Lily couldn't admit the presence of such a person in her life to herself, she _certainly_ wasn't about to admit it to Alice.

Alice stared at the second center card much like she had with the first card. This time, though, a look of comprehension dawned on her face.

"What?" Said Lily, worried by the triumphant look Alice had adopted.

"Well, it's just that this card explains why you don't know who that man is," Alice replied. "This card speaks of how your relationship with this man is as of yet incomplete. A transition must be made before you can further the relationship—some acceptance of it all."

Lily gulped. "And the next card?"

Alice looked at the bottom-most card. "Oh," she said, looking up at Lily. "But you already knew all of this, didn't you, Lily? You are already well aware of the fact that you haven't accepted this individual. You already know that you both are incomplete…"

Lily started giggling uncomfortably. "Hah, what's that now, Alice? All ready know? Don't be silly. It's silly, Alice, that's all it is—silly."

Alice scrunched up her nose in annoyance. "Next card, I think."

She bent down over the fourth card, murmuring to herself and rubbing her neck. Lily leaned over the table, trying to glimpse what the fourth card was, and almost succeeded when Alice looked up and said, "Sit back, Lily."

Lily sat back and Alice continued, "This fourth card says that what is causing this incompletion is your tendency to dwell in pre-established morals. You and this individual will not have a relationship that works with societal standards.

"In other words," Alice whispered, "yours will be a love unlike others."

Lily's eyes flicked over to James and Sirius again, who were leaning over their own cards quietly now. "Ah," she said. "Well, that's nice… but I'm not about to give up my moral values."

"Of course you aren't," said Alice, already looking down at the fifth card. "And that is because at the moment, your intellect is prevailing over your emotions."

Alice looked up at Lily and gave her a pitying look. "That's always been the problem, hasn't it, Lily? You were always too smart to go out with boys."

Lily looked away from Alice and didn't respond. She didn't like the look Alice was giving her, and she didn't like the feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach.

Yes, she _had_ always been too smart to go out with the immature plonkers who wandered Hogwarts' corridors. She knew that it was just a lousy waste of time. So what if Alice had managed to find someone like Frank Longbottom from Ravenclaw? It didn't matter, and it _didn't_ mean that Lily was going to find that either.

Lily shook her head and ran a hand along her hair. "Just read the final card, Alice."

Alice gave her an apologetic glnce and looked down at the sixth and final card. "It says," Alice stated slowly, "that until your intellect stops trying to prevail over your emotions, you will be incomplete. Well, really, that's not very good, is it now?"

Lily was glad Alice was done with the pitying looks, but couldn't help rolling her eyes and saying, "No, it really isn't, Alice… _Honestly_."

Frankly, Lily was getting annoyed with this Tarot reading. All she wanted to do was go and take a bath in the Prefects bathroom, get a book out of her dormitory in Gryffindor tower, and settle beneath the beech tree by the lake for a good two hours. James Potter and his cronies might not even bother her down there if the wind was blowing right.

At the thought of James Potter, Lily glanced over at him. He shook his head violently at Sirius before breaking into a grin. Lily sighed and ran her hand over her hair again as Alice watched her from across the table.

"Lily," said Alice quietly, "I think you might actually be in—"

"So!" Came the wheezy voice of Madame Edmonia from directly behind Alice. "What have we got here? What have you seen, my dears?"

Alice straightened up and said quickly, "Oh, Madame, we've only _just_ finished."

"Yes…and?" Said Madame Edmonia.

"Well," said Alice, taking a deep breath, "I read for Lily, of course, and it was quite an interesting session. However, while several things were clarified for me, Lily seems a little unsure of the reading."

Madame Edmonia turned to Lily. "What was so confusing about Ms. Stewart's reading, my dear?"

"Er," said Lily, drawing her eyes away from James. "Well, I…didn't really get closure on the issue."

"You mean to say…?" Madame Edmonia questioned.

"I mean to say," said Lily, looking at Alice, "that I don't know yet what exactly is going to _happen_. The present is all good and well, but the future is the most valuable part of any reading, is it not?"

Madame Edmonia took a deep, satisfied breath and said, "You are quite right. Take five house-points for that statement, Ms. Evans. Ms. Stewart, I believe a quick clarification session should be done. Those top two cards on your deck, I sense, should do the job nicely."

Alice nodded happily and drew the first two cards of the deck. At the same time, both she and Madame Edmonia let out excited gasps, although Madame Edmonia's was more from general excitement at a clarification session than the fact that the two cards were extremely useful to the previous reading.

"What?" Lily asked with a tint of apprehension in her voice.

"Oh well, it's just that the first card says that old ways will soon be discarded, and the second card says that the relationship will inevitably be complete," Alice said happily, looking at Madame Edmonia for approval.

But Madame Edmonia had signaled the end of class, and was not listening to Alice as students packed up their things and headed towards the opening in the floor out of which the ladder fell. Alice's face fell and she turned to pack up her bag. James stood behind Sirius, Peter, and Remus, looking over at Lily. When he caught her eye, as he had earlier, he smiled and winked at her.

Lily looked away, grinning, and said to Alice, "If it makes you feel any better, I have a feeling that you did a very good reading."

Alice grinned and said, moving up in the queue to descend next out of the Divination classroom, Lily following behind her, "You are a rose, my lovely pal, an English Rose."

"What ever you say, Alice… What ever you say," Lily laughed and wrinkled her brow in confusion.

"Careful down the ladder, Lily!" Alice called up as she climbed down the swinging rungs and rope. "Your hands are quite shaky at the moment!"

Lily, starting down the ladder, glanced at her hands as they twitched.

"Alice?" She shouted down, "How'd you know about my hands?"

Faintly, Lily heard Alice reply, "Mrs. Shreve, Lily!"

_Apparently_, Lily thought, grinning into the air around her, despite her quivering hands. Alice really had been dead on with that Tarot reading. After all, what was it Lily had been concentrating on as she set her left hand on the top of the deck, who just happened to show brilliant moments of being solid, dependable, and brave?

"_I will someday have James Potter, I will someday have James Potter…"_

And who knew? Perhaps she really would.


End file.
